Mirror mounting means and method



Aug. 31, 1965 J. 1. NARMORE MIRROR MOUNTING MEANS AND METHOD Filed Aug.28. 1961 1 l 3 a mfi F mm i R {,0 mA H W M m v V. B n nfla g 1 F ww fi lr 3 1 7 O I 3 United States Patent 3,203,142 MIRROR MOUNTING MEANS ANDMETHOD- .lames I. Narmore, 2826 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, Ind.Filed Aug. 28, 1961, 'Ser. No. 134,459 3 Claims. (CI. 52-27) Thisinvention relates generally to means and a method for mounting mirrorsto walls and particularly for the mounting of unframed mirrors to wallshaving a finished surface of a material such as ceramic or glass tile orwood paneling, with an unfinished area behind the intended mirrorlocation.

It is conventional practice in building construction to avoid the use ofcomparatively expensive finishes or finish materials in places wherethey wont be seen. In modern buildings including homes, glass, ceramicand plastic tile are widely used for walls, particularly in bathrooms,washrooms, showers and the like. In washrooms and bathroomsparticularly, mirrors are commonplace and modern design frequentlydictates frameless mirrors of substantial size. According to theabove-mentioned practice, where a finishing material such as thosementioned above is intended to surround the mirror location, thematerial is usually omitted at the intended mirror location, leaving anopening with the unfinished wall surface apparent within the borders ofthe finishing material.

To mount a mirror in place covering the opening, it is conventionalpractice to provide some furring material in the opening to build up thesurface in the unfinished wall area fiush with that of the surroundingfinishing material. One means of furring is by placing plywood in theopening and nailing through the unfinished wall to the wall studding.Holes are drilled in the mirror, itself, whereby fasteners may beinserted and anchored in the plywood or in the studding behind. Thefasteners are usually in the form of rosettes. In order to properlylocate the mirror both for location of the holes and for mounting themirror, it normally requires either two persons or some additional stepson the part of a single person to securely prop the mirror in positionduring the marking operation.

The disadvantages of conventional practice are many. The timerequirement is excessive, and as suggested above, two men are usuallyrequired to facilitate the hanging of the mirrors. The drilling of themounting holes in the mirror requires a skilled glazier and even then,there is a hazard of scratching the silver or the glass or both. Thereis the necessity of locating studs in order to properly apply thefurring material. If mounting clips are used instead of rosettes anddrilled holes, the only step omitted is that of drilling the holes inthe glass. Moreover, the clips cause the mirror to extend too far outfrom the wall to provide the neat appearance usually required in modernarchitecture and decorating.

It is, therefore, a general object of this invention to provide animproved means and method for mounting mirrors.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a means and methodto facilitate the mounting of mirrors whereby one comparativelyunskilled person can conveniently effect a neat mirror installation.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and meansfor mounting a mirror or other plate-like object with its rear surfacein a plane almost coplanar with a finished wall surface where there isan unfinished wall area recessed with respect to the finished surfacebehind the intended location of the mirror or other object without thenecessity of locating studs, employing furring material, or drilling themirror or other object.

r. CC

Described briefly, the invention includes in its scope a novel supporthanger which is so constructed as to be fastenable directly to plasteror wallboard in the area within an opening in a finished surface of awall. Assuming that the finished surface is obtained by the use ofceramic tile, the hanger is disposed at the lower edge of the openingbordered by the tile so as to be supportable by the tile when the hangeris subjected to the load of a mirror. The support hanger includes aportion projecting downwardly over the finished surface of the tile andthen opening upwardly to form a sort of hook portion to receive thelower edge of a mirror.

A novel retainer for the upper edge of the mirror is provided. Thisretainer has two principal members, the first of which is mounteddirectly to the wallboard or plaster adjacent the upper edge of theopening. A portion of this first member extends outwardly to a pointslightly beyond the plane of the finished wall surface. It then mayextend upwardly or downwardly, parallel to the finished wall surface,upwardly being the preferred construction.

The second member of the retainer includes a portion engaged by thefirst member for retention thereto, this portion extending upwardly andopening downwardly in a sort of hook to engage the upper edge of themirror. An inwardly projecting portion adjoins the upwardly extendingportion at its lower edge to engage the portion of the first memberfastened to the wallboard. The second member may be moved verticallydownwardly from a position whereby the upper edge of the mirror may bemoved into place, to a position whereby the upper edge of the mirror isfirmly retained in place by the member.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

FIG. 1 is a front View of a mirror installation according to thisinvention, a portion of the mirror being broken away to illustratecertain important mounting details.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through a wall with a mirror mounterthereto according to this invention, the section being taken along lines22 in FIG. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the novel retainer used for the upperfastening of the mirror.

FIG. 4 is a top view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the novel hanger used to support the loweredge of a mirror according to this invention.

- Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a mirror 11 disposed in frontof an opening 12 surrounded by finished wall 13. The mirror is typicallyfastened in four places by hangers 14 at the lower edge 16 thereof andretainers 17 at the upper edge 18 thereof. In the portion of FIG. 1 fromwhich the mirror has been omitted, its relationship to the other partswill be more readily appreciated by retention of the mirror outline asindicated by the dotted line 19. One of the hangers 14 is shown asinstalled on the unfinished wall surface in the opening 12. Similarly,one of the retainers 17 is so shown. However, the hook portion of theretainer is shown in an upward position such as required to receive themirror during the mounting operation.

In FIG. 2, there is shown material 21 which may be plaster, orwallboard, or other typical building wall construction material. Theouter surface 22 exposed in opening 12 will be considered, for thepurposes of this specification, an unfinished wall surface, though it isrecognized that at times the surfaces of plaster or wallboard would bethe finished surface of a wall. Finished wall materials such as, forexample, ceramic tile pieces 23 and 24, are

mounted by a suitable mastic material 26 to the unfinished surface 22,thereby forming the lower and upper borders 27 and 28, respectively, ofthe opening 12.

The support hanger 14 includes a first portion 29 having appropriateopenings 31 therethrough. Portion 29 is fastened to the wallboard 21 bymeans of the screws 32. It is a good practice to use a sleeve 33 ofplastic or other suitable material around the screw 3?. whereby a moresatisfactory engagement with the wallboard can be obtained.

Hanger clip 14 includes a forwardly projecting portion 34, the supportof which can be largely provided by the tile 23, if the portion 29 ismounted in the lowermost possible position in the opening 12. Hanger 14includes a further portion 36 projecting downwardly from portion 34,then outwardly at 37 and then upwardly at 38 to form a sort of hook toreceive the lower edge 16 of the mirror 11. Suitable protection for thelower edge of the mirror can be provided by a setting pad 39 made offelt, cork, tape or other suitable material. Similarly, protection forthe mirror silver on the back surface 41 of the mirror 11 can beprovided by the cushion strip 42 which may also be made of tape or othersuitable material.

Retainer 17 for the upper portion of the mirror 11 includes a firstmember 46 and a second member 47, the lattter being shown by solidoutlines in its uppermost position for receipt of the mirror, and bydotted outlines in its mirror retaining position. The first member 46includes a first portion 48 having perforations 49 therein whereby itmay be attached to the wallboard 21 by means of the screws 51 in amanner similar to the attachment of the hanger 14. Member 46 includes aforwardly projecting portion 52 and a vertically extending portion 53which may extend either upwardly as shown or downwardly from the portion52, upwardly being the preferred construction. As shown in FIG. 4, anopening 54 is provided in portion 52 adjacent portion 53 for purposeswhich will become apparent.

The second member 47 includes a generally planar portion 56 which passesthrough the opening 54 in the first member. At the lower edge of member47, there is a rearwardly extending portion 57 which is engageable withportion 48 of member 46. Portion 57 includes a V-shaped notch 58 thereinwhich is apparent in FIG. 5, and which permits passage of the member 47upwardly and downwardly without obstruction by any of the mountingscrews 51. It will also be observed that engagement of portion 57 withthe portion 48 of the first member permits a locking of the secondmember in the lowermost mirror retaining position by virtue of theprovision of projections 60 in portion 48.

At the upper edge of the portion 56 of the second member 47, there is aforwardly projecting portion 59. Portion 61 extending downwardly fromportion 59 cooperates with portion 59 and with portion 56 to provide adownwardly opening hook to engage the upper edge 18 of the mirror 11,when placed in the position shown by the dotted outlines in FIG. 2.Suitable protection for the silver on the rear face 41 of the mirror canagain be provided by strip 62 similar to strip 42 employed at the hanger14.

To install a mirror according to the invention, the vertical distancebetween the upper and lower edges 28 and 27 of the opening 12 should bemeasured. The mirror should then be cut to a size suitably larger thanthis dimension, one inch larger, for example. The mirror should be cutto length as required to adequately cover the side margins or borders ofthe opening 12. By cutting the mirror to the height as indicated above,a hanger having a one-half inch vertical overlap of the finished surfaceof the tile 23 can be used with the portion 34 thereof resting on theupper edge of the tile 23. Similarly, the portion 53 of the first memberof the retainer 17 can extend above the lower edge of the tile 24 adistance of one-half inch. After so mounting the hanger and retainer tothe wallboard 21, the lower edge of the mirror can be rested in the hookin the hanger 14. The second member 47 of the retainer 17 is raised tothe position shown by the solid outlines in FIG. 2 and the upper edge ofthe mirror is moved to the position shown in FIG. 2. The second memberof the retainer 17 is then depressed to the position shown by the dottedoutline to firmly retain the mirror in place. In depressing the secondmember 47 to the position shown by the dotted outline, the projections60 will be passed over by portion 57. Thus, after snapping member 47into retaining position, projections 60 will keep the member from beingaccidentally raised out of retaining position whenever the mirror iscleaned after installation. It should be observed, that there is someflexibility in the possible mounting location of both the hanger and theretainer whereby irregularities in setting of the tiles may becompensated for and slight measuring erors can also be compensated for.The retainers can, of course, be used at the side edges of the mirror ifdesired, though use at the upper edge is usually preferred.

The parts used for the retainer and hanger may be typically made of thinmetal stock, .03125 inch, for example. Because of light gauge, the partscan give slightly outwardly to allow for unevenness in the finishedsurface of the wall. Yet, it is possible to mount the mirror quite closeto the Wall to avoid any unsightly gap between the finished wall surfaceand the back of the mirror. Adequate air space in the opening 12 behindthe mirror, unimpeded by furring strips or boards, permits the mirror toremain dry, resulting in long mirror life. Typically, the parts would bemade of steel with a bright metal plat-ing such as chrome.

It should be recognized that this means and method of mounting a mirroris extremely versatile. In addition to providing for the mounting of amirror, it can be used for mounting other sheet or plate-like objects.In addition to mount-ing over an opening of the general type shown anddescribed, it should be recognized that this means and method can beused in other environments. For example, it could be used wherewall-board is cut away for a mounting location, exposing the wall studsin the opening provided by the cut-away wallboard. The hangers andretainers can then be mounted directly to the studs and the mirrorinstalled in a manner similar to that described and shown in thedrawings.

While the advantages of the device and method of this invention may beobvious, perhaps a few should again be mentioned. Using the means andmethod of this invention, the home owner, builder, tile setter orhandyman, as well as the professional glass man (usually referred to asa glazier), can quickly and easily install mirrors with very littlechance of breakage, no holes to drill in the mirror, no plywood or otherfurring material to nail on a wall, and no necessity for locating wallstuds. Moreover, the devices provide for vertical adjustment tocompensate for irregularities in borders and slight errors in measuringand cutting the mirror. Typical examples of the range of adjustmentpossible, using clips with a one-half inch overlap capacity, would be upto three-fourths inch over the optimum measurement and down to one-halfinch less than the optimum measurement. A further advantage, is theadaptability of the devices to manufacture in sizes accommodatingdifferent thicknesses of wall tile or the like. A further advantage isthe saving of tile, mastic and labor which would be otherwise necessaryif the tile were carried across the area to be covered by the mirror andthe mirror mounted thereto by conventional means. A still furtheradvantage is the fact that by use of the method and means of thisinvention, a mirror can be installed in less than half the time and inmost cases with half the manpower required by conventional methods anddevices. Again, as indicated before, the parts used will accommodateunevenness in the wall surface and yet will allow the mirror to hangclose to the wall with no unslightly gap between the wall and the backof the mirror.

It should be observed that while the hanger and retainer are shown withportions intersecting at right angles in most instances, theconstruction could be modified somewhat and remain within the scope ofthe invention. For example, portion 52 of the first member of theretainer could be curved and could intersect portion 48 thereof at anangle of more or less than 90. Also, as long as a suitable mountingplane is provided for attachment to the wallboard 21, portion 48 wouldnot necessarily need to be entirely in a plane but could includereinforcing ribs or be otherwise modified within the scope of theinvention. Similarly, portion 56 could be modified with ribs orotherwise within the scope of the invention, yet retaining a generallyplanar character. A still further obvious modification within the scopeof the invention would be to provide other than rectangular formed hookportions for the hanger and retainer. Also, the opening in portion 52 ofthe first member of the retainer would not need to be centrally locatedbut could, for example, be in one of the lateral edges of the member orboth of the lateral edges of the member.

There-fore, while the invention has been illustrated and described indetail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it beingunderstood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown anddescribed and that all changes and modifications that come within thespirit of the invention and the scope of the claims are also desired tobe protected.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a building construction, the combination com prising:

means providing a first wall surface,

wall surfacing elements secured to said first wall surface and havingouter faces providing a finished wall surface lying in a first plane inhorizontally spaced relation to said first wall surface, said elementsbeing arranged to provide an opening in said finished surface, with saidfirst wall surface exposed in said opening and recessed from saidfinished wall surface, said elements having edges bordering saidopening;

a single plate completing covering said opening;

a support hanger having a first portion with a back surface attacheddirectly to said first wall surface adjacent an upper bordering edge ofsaid elements at a lower border of said opening, and said hanger havinga forwardly projecting portion resting on one of said edges at the saidlower border of said opening, and said hanger having a portionprojecting downwardly from said forwardly projection portion and openingupwardly to form a book supporting the lower edge of said plate;

and a retainer having first and second members, the the first memberthereof having a first portion with a rear surface attached directly tosaid first wall surface adjacent another bordering edge, and said firstmember having a second portion projecting forwardly from said firstportion thereof at a lower bordering edge of said elements at an upperborder of said opening, said second portion of said first member havinga slot therein intercepting the said plane of said finished wallsurface, and said first member having a third portion extendingvertically from said second portion at a front margin of said slot;

the second member of said retainer having a first portion extendingvertically upwardly through said slot at said finished wall surface andhaving a second portion projecting forwardly from said first portion ofsaid second member above said slot, and said second member having athird portion projecting down from said second portion thereof, saidfirst, second, and third portions of said second member from a hookretaining the upper portion of said plate, said second member having afourth portion extending rearwardly from said first portion below saidslot and engaging the first portion of said first member and therebyproviding horizontal support for said second member.

2. A device for mounting a mirror in front of a recessed opening in awall, the opening having a first surface recessed with respect to afinished wall surface bordering the opening, said device comprising:

a first member having a first portion with a back surface lying in avertical plane for attachment directly to the first surface, a secondportion extending across the upper margin of said first portion andprojecting forwardly from said first portion, and a third portionbeginning at said second portion and extending thereform parallel tosaid plane and terminating at a point in horizontally spaced relation tosaid plane, said second portion having a slot therethrough at said thirdportion, with said third portion defining the front margin of said slot,all of said portions of said first member being formed of a singlehomogeneous piece of material;

and a' second member having an elongated generally planar first portionextending through said slot in said first member, and having a secondportion joining said planar portion and projecting rearwardly andabuttingly engaging said first portion of said first member to providehorizontal support for said second member, and said second member havinga third portion projecting forwardly from said planar portion, and afourth portion extending from said forwardly projecting portiongenerally parallel to said planar portion of said second member, thefirst, third, and fourth portions of said second member forming a hookfor engaging a mirror adjacent an edge thereof;

said first and second members being relatively movable for movement froma relationship of disengagement from a mirror to a relationship ofengagement of a mirror, said first portion of said first member and saidrearwardly projecting second portion of said second member cooperatingwith the first portion of said second member extending through said slotin said second portion of said first member to guide said second memberduring movement relative to said first member.

3. A device for mounting a mirror in front of a recessed opening in awall, the opening having a first surface recessed with respect to afinished wall surface bordering the opening, said device comprising:

a first member having a first portion with a front surface and a rearsurface lying in a plane, said rear surface being attachable directly tothe first surface, and said front surface having a detent meansprojecting forwardly therefrom, and said first member having a secondportion projecting forward from said first portion, said second portionhaving a slot therein, the slot having a vertical depth equal to thethickness of the material of said second portion, and said first memberhaving a third portion beginning at the front margin of said slot andextending from said second portion parallel to said rear surface andterminating at a point in horizontally spaced relation to said plane;

and a second member having a first portion extending extending throughsaid slot in said first member, and having a second portion joining saidfirst portion and extending rearwardly a distance sufiicient tointerfere with said detent means on the first portion of said firstmember, said second member having a third portion projecting forwardlyfrom said first portion, and said second member having a fourth portionprojecting from said third portion thereof in a direction parallel tosaid first portion thereof, said third and fourth portions combiningwith said first portion to form a hook for engaging a mirror ad-2,184,893 12/39 Lumley 161 jacent an edge thereof; 2,501,176 3/50 Jacobs248-28 X said first and second members being relatively movable2,686,641 8/54 Friedrich 24830 vertically for movement from arelationship of disen- 2,696,962 12/54 Goss 248-28 gagement from amirror to a relationship of engage- 5 2,818,948 1/58 Jones 189-88 mentof a mirror, and all portions of said second 3,008,249 11/61 Masters24828 X member which are above said slot being in front of a verticalplane containing the portion of said sec- FOREIGN PATENTS ond memberextending through said slot. 655,303 1/33 Germany- 10 315,538 8/56Switzerland. References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTSHENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Exammer. 2,129,189 9/38 Alder ROBERT C.RIORDON, JACOB L. N12CKENOFF, 2,135,982 11/38 Masters 35-67X

1. IN A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: MEANSPROVIDING A FIRST WALL SURFACE, WALL SURFACING ELEMENT SECURED TO SAIDFIRST WALL SURFACE AND HAVING OUTER FACES PROVIDING A FINISHED WALLSURFACE LYING IN A FIRST PLANE IN HORIZONTALLY SPACED RELATION TO SAIDFIRST WALL SURFACE, SAID ELEMENTS BEING ARRANGED TO PROVIDE AN OPENINGIN SAID FINISHED SURFACE, WITH SAID FIST WALL SURFACE EXPOSED IN SAIDOPENING AND RECESSED FROM SAID FINISHED WALL SURFACE, SAID ELEMENTSHAVING EDGES BORDERING SAID OPENING; A SINGLE PLATE COMPLETING COVERINGSAID OPENING; A SUPPORT HANGER HAVING A FIST PORTION WITH A BACK SURFACEATTACHED DIRECTLY TO SAID FIRST WALL SURFACE ADJACENT AN UPPER BORDERINGEDGE OF SAID ELEMENTS AT A LOWER BORDER OF SAID OPENING, AND SAID HANGERHAVING A FORWARDLY PROJECTING PORTION RESTING ON ONE OF SAID EDGES ATTHE SAID LOWER BORDER OF SAID OPENING, AND SAID HANGER HAVING A PORTIONPROJECTING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID FORWARDLY PROJECTION PORTION AND OPENINGUPWARDLY TO FORM A BOOK SUPPORTING THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID PLATE; AND ARETAINER HAVING FIRST AND SECOND MEMBERS, THE THE FIRST MEMBER THEREOFHAVING A FIRST PORTION WITH A REAR SURFACE ATTACHED DIRECTLY TO SAIDFIRST WALL SURFACE ADJACENT ANOTHER BORDERING EDGE, AND SAID FIRSTMEMBER HAVING A SECOND PORTION PROJECTING FORWARDLY FROM SAID FIRSTPORTION THEREOF AT A LOWER BORDERING EDGE OF SAID ELEMENTS AT AN UPPERBORDER OF SAID OPENING, SAID SECOND PORTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER HAVINGA SLOT THEREIN INTERCEPTING THE SAID PLANE OF SAID FINISHED WALLSURFACE, AND SAID FIRST MEMBER HAVING A THIRD PORTION EXTENDINGVERTICALLY FROM SAID SECOND PORTION AT A FRONT MARGIN OF SAID SLOT; THESECOND MEMBER OF SAID RETAINER HAVING A FIRST PORTION EXTENDINGVERTICALLY UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID SLOT AT SAID FINISHED WALL SURFACE ANDHAVING A SECOND PORTION PROJECTING FORWARDLY FROM SAID FIRST PORTION OFSAID SECOND MEMBER ABOVE SAID SLOT, AND SAID SECOND MEMBER HAVING ATHIRD PORTION PROJECTING DOWN FROM SAID SECOND PORTION THEREOF, SAIDFIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PORTIONS OF SAID SECOND MEMBER FROM A HOOKRETAINING THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID PLATE, SAID SECOND MEMBER HAVING AFOURTH PORTION EXTENDING REARWARDLY FROM SAID FIRST PORTION BELOW SAIDSLOT AND ENGAGING THE FIRST PORTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER AND THEREBYPROVIDING HORIZONTAL SUPPORT FOR SAID SECOND MEMBER.